*a spoiler-free review with affiliate links*
A story with seven first-person accounts? Let me tell you it was hard to get behind the concept. So why did I keep reading Aurora Rising? The first chapter grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.
There’s even a moment or two of direct communication between one main character and the reader that was memorable.
There’s no law against having more than one POV or even more than three in genre fiction. Choosing the right one or the right more than one is a challenge even for the best authors.
The common screw-ups:
Everybody sounds the same. Characters with no distinct voice and chosen for first-person POVs can not only be boring but it can be confusing for the reader.
Confusion for the reader is one of the biggest issues. There are other ways that things can become confusing. Even if the characters have distinct voices things can get confusing when the reader can’t keep track of which secrets belong to which characters.
Too much information and not enough suspense can come from being in too many heads. The reader gets a lot of information too soon and not enough intensity or build-up.
It’s difficult for a reader to bond when there are too many POVs When characters are underdeveloped many readers with weak and
The bonus benefits:
More than one POV gives the reader more ‘behind the scenes’ views that you wouldn’t get with just one character’s view. When done well, it can give you a more rounded view of the story.
The POV of the most important character is important because you want the reader to root for them. If you choose more than one than it can be just more characters to love. In the case of Aurora Rising, there’s a character with only a few lines of POV, but strangely, it was more than enough to help the reader feel connected to them.
Getting more of the story, was exactly what the reader wants while reading Aurora Rising. However, even when the reader tries to distance themselves from one character or the other, the authors reeled you back in and made you care.
Each character had their own quirky voice and a vested interest in the story. It was hard to know who our hero was by the end since there were so many. However, if you want a taste of distinctive voice choices, check out the audio for Aurora Rising. You won’t regret it.
So despite the multiple POVs we here at Dragons & Spaceships give this book four spaceships out of five.
If you’ve read Aurora Rising we’d love to see your comments below. What did you think? If you haven’t read it, will you?
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